Case Study Ashleigh

My Experience of NCS

Hi I’m Ashleigh and I did NCS in the Summer of 2015. I’m now studying at South Leicestershire College.

All of NCS is a good memory but there were parts that I will remember the most like on the first week we had to dress our mentors up as superheroes. We had to improvise and find things to create the outfit with, our team didn’t win but we all made an effort and it was one of the first times all the team worked together.

In week two while we were living at University, we had to choose the charity we would like to support and raise money for. My team chose Rainbow’s Hospice which helps terminally ill children and young adults. Unfortunately two other teams wanted the charity also, so the teams had to give a pitch as to why we should have that charity. When it was our turn everyone was nervous but we pulled together and even the shyest member of our team spoke up and found their voice. Afterwards we found out we got it and I could not have been prouder of my team. Back to week one, on the last night someone had gotten hold of a speaker and me and my friends started dancing and playing our favourite music, shortly after crowds started joining and over 150 people were raving until dark. The mentors got involved too but pulled the plug eventually, everyone had such a good time and we went to bed still hyped.

I had spent months preparing and packing for NCS just in case I had forgotten something. I was really nervous but I knew that two of my close friends were going. I constantly had a rush of happiness because I wanted the next day to come around so badly. The excitement was crippling me so I didn’t get much sleep the night before. On the day of NCS nerves overtook and I wanted to chicken out because I didn’t know if I would like NCS or not, I know now I didn’t need to be nervous.

I was the one who went to my parents to tell them that I wanted to do NCS because I had heard of it in an assembly we had. My dad did something similar to NCS when he was my age so he encouraged me to do it because it is a once in a lifetime opportunity that I couldn’t miss. My mum was surprised that I wanted to do it because she said I’m lazy J.

Our team helped Rainbows by raising money, we went to the train station and held a bake sale which got lots of people’s interest as the public immediately recognised the charity and donated. We also did another bake sale at Leicester Market selling cakes, cookies and samosas which sold out quickly. After all of that cake the team decided to do an 8 mile sponsored walk when it was pouring it down with rain, washing away our face paint. Lots of us struggled but with the motivation of the team we got there in the end. When we made it back to Leicester we counted up all the money we had raised and it came to over £700. We could not believe that we had raised that much money by just selling cakes and an 8 mile walk!

So much has happened since NCS that has changed the way my lifestyle is. For starters it looked great on my application form and helped me get an offer for a new college I wanted to go to. I think I have become friendlier towards people and I know not to judge them before I have even met them. I have also become more confident to do things for myself instead of relying on my parents to do it for me. I’m so glad that I did NCS because I have so many stories that I can tell from events that are unforgettable. I told all of my friends about how great it was and some have signed up for next year.